This invention relates to a portable therapeutic apparatus for use by humans, equines, and other animals. More specifically, this invention relates to a portable therapeutic apparatus for heating and cooling a body surface of a user, and, in some embodiments, non-invasive medical data collection and analysis, medicinal application, and electric stimulation to the surface of the user.
Various therapeutic devices have been developed in the past for treating muscle and tissue injuries. The types of treatment include heating, cooling, iontophoresis, or electrically stimulating an injured area. For example, for injuries requiring cold compresses, a cloth or bandage may be cooled in a freezer and applied to the injured area. Ice packs have also been used to apply cooling therapy to a body surface. For injuries requiring heat treatment, cloth or bandage may be heated in a microwave or oven and then applied to the injured area. Alternatively, heating pads or chemical salves may be applied to an injured area that requires heat therapy. U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,490, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, provides a discussion of heating and cooling devices that have been used in the past for therapeutic purposes